


just a second

by Anonymous



Category: One Piece
Genre: Compulsive Heteronormativity, Emotional Constipation, F/F, Implied Attraction, Implied/Referenced Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Ulti has a cut on her face.
Relationships: Black Maria & Ulti, Black Maria/Ulti
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4
Collections: Anonymous





	just a second

**Author's Note:**

> i had this scene stuck in my head really late at night so i just wanted to write it ^^;

Black Maria's not quite sure what to make of this woman and her bizarre behavior quite yet, but she's entertaining, nonetheless. Her favorite out of everyone Kaido's brought in so far - at least she's trying to clean up her mess of a mouth, it's nice to have someone outside of her girls use her as an example as a proper woman.

But Ulti's unfortunate personality is not the problem here. It's nowhere near resembling the issue here.

The issue is her face.

There's a gash on Ulti's face, bright and swollen and glistening like the inside of a pomegranate and her hair looks like a very small, localized tornado ran through it. There's a stick caught in there, tangled and obvious in the pastels of her locks, and it seems like it won't be quite pleasant to get out - she stands tall however, eyes smiling with glee, cut with something dangerous.

 _Who hit her?_ Black Maria thinks, with startling viciousness. It's normal to get hurt in their line of work, but Ulti is strong and stubborn. She's a powerhouse and Black Maria doesn't recall the last time she's been injured - not even a papercut. There is no one who could harm her unless she let them. Tense, she schools her wan expression into something kinder.

"Your face," Black Maria tuts and bends her torso as low to the ground as she can. Even on her knees she takes up more than half the room, and her neck hurts from craning her neck down most of the time. As gently as she can, she points the tip of her nail under Ulti's chin, and obediently, Ulti obliges without fuss - though her cheeks seemed to be tinted red with the cold air, body tense and tight like a string about to snap.

What is a woman without her greatest asset? Like in a rakugo, men come and go as they please - they fish up new bones whenever their old ones become inconvenient. Nozarashi was one of the first stories she learned on her own accord - though, bitterly, she thinks, women had and still have no place in rakugo.

(but she was an oiran; an entertainer, and all art is created equal, no? or did that only apply to men? she took pride in her job and her upkeep, she's beautiful and well requested, she does well in a world that trap and devours women and children in webs and cough up empty shells devoid of hopes and dreams like a particularly stubborn fishbone. nothing quite like a woman scorned. anger is a wonderful motivator; maybe one day she'll make the men of this world choke as well.) 

She wraps those feelings up and ignores them. No one likes a bitter woman.

Ulti beams, and she delicately wraps her hand around Black Maria's nail. She's tiny, powerful and beautiful - if she humbled herself, every man would be of want for her. But even then, there's something charming about how wild she is, how she expresses herself and talks back to others. She seems unbreakable, and Black Maria feels almost swallowed by her presence every time she enters a room. Even if some are too daft to pay Ulti mind, Black Maria never stops seeking her. Ulti is the type to attract stares, and Black Maria can't help but notice her. Ulti's presence and lack of general manners makes men squirm in discomfort, and it's unexpectedly refreshing.

"I had to work some things out," she chimes, at the loud volume her vocal chords never seem to stray from, "with violence."

"I see, yes, that was indeed my first impression," Black Maria says, staring at her disastrous appearance. The wound shifts and stretches as she speaks, and it makes Black Maria cringe thinking of it scarring or her just walking around with it out. A scar like that can take so much from a woman.

Ulti brings her shoulders in and keeps her head tilted. She looks up at Black Maria through her eyelashes. It reminds her of her girls when they're trying to court a man to buy them permanently, it reminds Black Maria of herself and how she managed to survive until she paid her obeisance and loyalty to Kaido.

"It seems," she starts, attempting to mimic Black Maria's speech patterns and misses the landing completely with her vulgarity. "There was some pedestrian ass heresy, concerning Kaido. I thought it was best to get rid of them… on his behest." 

Ulti giggles at the unintentional rhyme. It's a pleasure to listen to, even if her voice is not conveniently attractive, and her normal way of speaking is lovely as well, too powerful to slow down and full of frenetic energy. Her voice is sharp like the warbling hiss of air from a corpse, and at any given moment she sounds like a woman on the last fray of civility, even more so when Ulti attempts propriety. It's a guilty pleasure.

(it wasn't very funny, if ulti wanted to appeal to men she should keep her mouth closed and her violence a silent affair; killing is unavoidable in their line of work, best to keep it quiet and neat and with elegance. how many plays and stories of lover's suicides has she read? about women just like her who can't keep things neat and organized? it becomes a mess in more ways than one -)

"And what was it that marred your pretty face?"

There's a twitch in Ulti's expression, and even with her mask, it's painfully obvious that she's pouting. She slouches for real this time, sulking.

Sniffing, she then gives Black Maria's nail a little squeeze, bouncing on her toes. There's a wobble in Ulti's voice, not upset, but unsure how to approach this topic is her poor mimicry of Black Maria's speech. "Um… afterwards… I wanted a piggyback ride but Pay-Pay's a little bastard and didn't catch me when I jumped him from a tree." She fumbles with her words, then gives up and starts again, normally now, "He's a brat but a good brat, like, the type people enjoy babysitting because it's funny - he'll learn how to show me appreciation one day but jeez, there's a limit to how tsundere someone can be, you know?" 

Ah.

Of course.

Maria tries to catch herself before laughs - it's always been a naturally unpleasant one, like the braying of a horse and yet her body is wracked with ugly, boisterous belts of laughter. Of course, _of course_ , it's so her, what else could it have been? There is not a person on this planet that could harm a woman like her, and the reassurance floods her body, wracking her with relieved guffaws. She had to teach herself to cover her lips with a fan and titter, worked so hard to train this habit into her, and yet...

She doesn't quite think it's the chill of the air making Ulti flush anymore, the red has spread to the tips of her ears and down her neck - this one her fault for sure, and she wheezes out an apology and Ulti huffs at before she accepts, not before claiming betrayal as Black Maria pats her head lightly. 

There's still a stick in her hair, and Black Maria can't comb it out without scalping her friend, not at her size. And there's still the issue of her gash…

She rips a piece of her sleeve from her person, and Ulti freezes - it's nothing for her, like plucking a stray thread. It's the size of a scarf on a normal human. And as delicately as she can, she wraps it around Ulti's hair and jaw like a zukin, tying it in the front like a little bow. At least she won't be walking around like a mess.

Almost demurely, Ulti stares at her wide-eyed, then tenderly touches the fabric, almost reverent. She's red. Black Maria can see her work her jaw uselessly, before taking her hands and burying them into her new scarf. It's much nicer to see this expression on a woman than a man.

Black Maria doesn't linger on this thought.

"An apology, and a thank you for the laugh," she says.

Softer than Black Maria's ever heard her, she replies, a meek little squeak that Black Maria strains herself to hear, "thank you…"

There's something about seeing her like this that makes her lightheaded, as if struck by a concussion. That's not what she should focus on right now. Black Maria's lips twitch, "now go fix your hair and get your face looked at. You're a mess."

Ulti gasps, offended, stomping her foot and yelling shrilly. The feeling fades as soon as it comes, just as it should.


End file.
